Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - Page 1060

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbtaylor 

 

I think they look fine on feet, I would not worry about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoneyWellSpent 

 

That sort of looks like the now infamous "5-Last Bowing."  Have you had trouble with any other 5-Last shoes doing that?  I agree with cbtaylor, that if they fit fine it probably isn't a huge deal. 

I haven't had problems with my Strands, no. Thanks for the advice though; I'm gonna keep 'em.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoneyWellSpent 

Interestingly, one of the discrepancies that I have caught is between the Rapid City and the Cognac McTavish.  Both shoes are made from Horween Cognac Dublin Leather.  However, they say to use Conditioner/Cleaner and Walnut Polish on the Rapid City, whereas they say to use Saddle Soap on the McTavish.  The care should be the same for these two shoes I would think.  Just curious about what happened with yours. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSizzle 

I can tell you this: I will not be putting saddle soap anywhere near those uppers again, and I would advise others with cognac McTavish to avoid it as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacktasticGDogg 

I used saddle soap on my Elgins back when I bought it and it took out the toe burnishing. At the time the AE website had just added saddle soap and it said it should be used on the Rough Collection, so I tried it. I guess that was a mistake. Fortunately the shoe looked fine to me without the toe burnishing, so it didn't bother me. But it sounds like I should just toss that can of saddle soap.

Strangely, the Shoe Care Reference PDF says to use Conditioner/Cleaner (CC) and Saddle Soap (SS) on the "Wax Infused" McTavishes, CC and Premium Polish (PP) on the "Distressed" one, and just CC (but no SS, PP, or Leather Lotion (LL)) on the Cognac McTavishes. Interestingly, the "Saddle Waxy" leather of the Elgins call for CC and LL.

My guess is that SS is only good for the "Wax Infused" leathers, but you would think it would work for "Saddle Waxy" leathers, too. Hell, it has "Saddle" and "Wax" in the name! It seems that CC is okay for just about anything. Do we think the same is true for LL?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacktasticGDogg 


I used saddle soap on my Elgins back when I bought it and it took out the toe burnishing. At the time the AE website had just added saddle soap and it said it should be used on the Rough Collection, so I tried it. I guess that was a mistake. Fortunately the shoe looked fine to me without the toe burnishing, so it didn't bother me. But it sounds like I should just toss that can of saddle soap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSizzle 

 

I think they might still have saddle soap listed on their website under the McTavish description, but I'm not going there.

 

The finish seems different (wax infusion and such) on different colors of the McTavish, which might explain why it didn't harm my tan ones, but you should have seen the amount of color that was coming off the shoes and onto the cloth (when the cloth became brown, I could only assume it was from the shoes since I wasn't adding any color).

 

I'd recommend avoiding it on the cognac variety for sure.

 

Saddle soap is rough stuff, but it has some uses. I don't know if I'd disregard it all-together, but, like I said, I'd keep it away from cognac McTavish uppers.

Saddle soap is fine on the natural tan McTavish.  I use in on my tan Finches and have been for months.  They look beautiful in my opinion.  Saddle soap isn't as rough as urban legend has led many to believe.  The issue is rather simple.  If the shoe has a polished finish that can be stripped away, then saddle soap will gradually remove it.  It is actually a great product and the leather isn't being damaged.  The pigment that is sitting on the surface of the shoe is just being cleaned away along with the dirt.  Saddle soap leaves behind enough oils, etc., so that the leather is quite supple afterwords.  It is just best to use it on shoes that are not colored with a surface polish unless you plan on re-polishing them afterwords. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentyman 

 

I haven't had problems with my Strands, no. Thanks for the advice though; I'm gonna keep 'em.

 

 

Strangely, the Shoe Care Reference PDF says to use Conditioner/Cleaner (CC) and Saddle Soap (SS) on the "Wax Infused" McTavishes, CC and Premium Polish (PP) on the "Distressed" one, and just CC (but no SS, PP, or Leather Lotion (LL)) on the Cognac McTavishes. Interestingly, the "Saddle Waxy" leather of the Elgins call for CC and LL.

 

My guess is that SS is only good for the "Wax Infused" leathers, but you would think it would work for "Saddle Waxy" leathers, too. Hell, it has "Saddle" and "Wax" in the name! It seems that CC is okay for just about anything. Do we think the same is true for LL?

Yes, Leather Lotion is essentially just as it's name implies.  It will moisturize the leather without doing anything else.  It won't clean them.  It is neutral in color so won't add or take away any color.  Consider it Conditioner/Cleaner without the cleaner. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoneyWellSpent 

Yes, Leather Lotion is essentially just as it's name implies.  It will moisturize the leather without doing anything else.  It won't clean them.  It is neutral in color so won't add or take away any color.  Consider it Conditioner/Cleaner without the cleaner. 

Yeah, that's what it seems like. I did use LL on my new Tan Elgins, and it made the cloth a bit yellow from removing some excess color, but I'm sure the same would've happened if it rubbed it too much with a wet cloth. They certainly didn't look any lighter afterward, though I probably couldn't tell after just one application anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentyman 

I haven't had problems with my Strands, no. Thanks for the advice though; I'm gonna keep 'em.

 

Strangely, the Shoe Care Reference PDF says to use Conditioner/Cleaner (CC) and Saddle Soap (SS) on the "Wax Infused" McTavishes, CC and Premium Polish (PP) on the "Distressed" one, and just CC (but no SS, PP, or Leather Lotion (LL)) on the Cognac McTavishes. Interestingly, the "Saddle Waxy" leather of the Elgins call for CC and LL.

 

My guess is that SS is only good for the "Wax Infused" leathers, but you would think it would work for "Saddle Waxy" leathers, too. Hell, it has "Saddle" and "Wax" in the name! It seems that CC is okay for just about anything. Do we think the same is true for LL?

Leather Lotion is almost always safe, it is the conditioner part of the Conditoner/Cleaner. I use it on my Wilbert's to prevent darkening the contrast stitching and also a few other things, it works great on belts and bridle leather. I now use Bickmore Bicks 4 which appears to be the same thing as LL but you can get a huge bottle at any tack shop for cheap. CC has cleaners added to it and will sometimes lift the dye off the top and spread it to other areas like white stitching. But is usually also safe much of the time IME.

On Saddle Soap, there are a lot of different types out there. The best by far IMO is fiebings glycerine saddle soap. It is 100% glycerine and has no chemicals or cleaners added, think of it as leather lotion. After cleaning tack gear with a mixture of SS and water then letting it dry it is common to polish tack with a bar of it. Pure glycerine is what most museum's and the science community uses to preserve leather BTW. When cleaning shoes or boots with it how you use it also makes a difference. Most people use a soft sponge and water when using SS at least that how I was taught and think most others were too. On things like chrome tanned hiking and hunting boots I use a nylon knuckle brush however and on the first pass am interested in cleaning them. On the second I let the suds soak in and penetrate the leather. After a couple of years of that when they dry the glycerin will actually come out of the boots much like bloom will on shell. 

The whole AE thing of using CC then SS is totally back asswards in my way of thinking in treating shoes and boots. And only see the need for one or the other. I use only LL on my Elgins and then not often. For the other rough collection shoes it depends. Agree with Sizzle, would not use SS on the cognac dyed leather. It does however work well on my tan McTavish that I darkened with neatsfoot oil. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archimon 

Thanks for the reply. I've been brooding over it a bit and came to a similar conclusion, as after looking at some pictures online the Dark Brown seem to be a fair amount darker than the official website images suggested. I may end up making the trip into the city to try a pair in the correct color, but at the least I'm going to try on the black ones at Nordstrom for fit. 

Since you PM'd me confirming that it would help you to see them next to some pants in those colors, I snapped a quick picture.

I hope this helps a little.

Summary of what happened on the rough road of the cognac ones:

- I was told by multiple AE representatives to use saddle soap, specifically on that color, even though I found it odd.

- I sent them pictures after.

- While I was waiting for a reply, I applied neatsfoot oil, which darkened them back quite a bit.

- Once that dried (about a week to settle around), I threw on some cognac Saphir cream and shined them up a bit.

- AE apologized for the bad advice, and their customer service department had me mail them back.

- When they received them, they said they looked like their sample pair, and they sent me pictures.

- AE cleaned them and sent them back (that's all they acknowledge doing).

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSizzle 

 

Since you PM'd me confirming that it would help you to see them next to some pants in those colors, I snapped a quick picture.

 

I hope this helps a little.

 

 

Appreciate it! This pretty much confirms the tan for me. The darker ones seem to be a bit darker than I had wanted, and the tans are right on the money. Appreciate everyone's help and recommendations in this thread, very helpful!

Man, I really wish they made the Delray in walnut (I know, you can custom order them but it's full price).  A walnut Delray on sale would be my absolute dream. 

I want some good boots for snow or rain that aren't too hideous or expensive.

I'm planning to get the Yuma over the 6" Chippewa boots.

I live in NYC so the rain and snow isn't too heavy most of the time. Would the Yuma's be suitable for NYC weather? Since there's leather on it, I'm afraid it'll get ruined and deteriorate quickly. I used Live Chat and the person who helped me said that it was not recommended for snow/rain. Is that suggestion solid?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston S. 


As long as you take care of the leather after wear you should be fine, but don't expect it to be waterproof.

I'm going to try and avoid snow and rain when possible so these shoes won't see too much damage. How should I take care of the leather though? I know it's not going to be "care-free maintenance" like snow boots but will the leather break down really quickly, destroying the integrity of the shoe?